frequency

American  

[free-kwuhn-see] / ˈfri kwən si /

noun

• frequencies
  plural

1. Also frequence. the state or fact of being frequent; frequent occurrence.

   We are alarmed by the frequency of fires in the neighborhood.

   Synonyms:

   recurrence, repetition, regularity

2. rate of occurrence.

   The doctor has increased the frequency of his visits.

3. Physics.

   1. the number of periods or regularly occurring events of any given kind in unit of time, usually in one second.

   2. the number of cycles or completed alternations per unit time of a wave or oscillation. F; freq.

4. Mathematics. the number of times a value recurs in a unit change of the independent variable of a given function.

5. Statistics. the number of items occurring in a given category.

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frequency British  

/ ˈfriːkwənsɪ /

noun

1. the state of being frequent; frequent occurrence

2. the number of times that an event occurs within a given period; rate of recurrence

3. ν, f. physics the number of times that a periodic function or vibration repeats itself in a specified time, often 1 second. It is usually measured in hertz

4. statistics

   1. the number of individuals in a class ( absolute frequency )

   2. the ratio of this number to the total number of individuals under survey ( relative frequency )

5. ecology

   1. the number of individuals of a species within a given area

   2. the percentage of quadrats that contains individuals of a species

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frequency Scientific  

/ frē′kwən-sē /

1. Physics The rate at which a repeating event occurs, such as the full cycle of a wave. Frequencies are usually measured in hertz.

2. Physics Compare amplitude See also period

3. Mathematics The ratio of the number of occurrences of some event to the number of opportunities for its occurrence.

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frequency Cultural  

1. In physics, the number of crests of a wave that move past a given point in a given unit of time. The most common unit of frequency is the hertz (Hz), corresponding to one crest per second. The frequency of a wave can be calculated by dividing the speed of the wave by the wavelength. Thus, in the electromagnetic spectrum, the wavelengths decrease as the frequencies increase, and vice versa.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonfrequence
  noun
• nonfrequency
  noun
• overfrequency
  noun
• underfrequency
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• frequencies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of frequency

First recorded in 1545–55, frequency is from the Latin word frequentia assembly, multitude, crowd. See frequent, -cy

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Explanation

Frequency measures how often things repeat over time. City buses often reach stops at a frequency of every 15 minutes, unless it's snowing or raining really hard. In that case, the frequency will slow. You probably know the word frequent, a synonym for often. So, it is tempting to think frequency describes something that happens often. However, this isn't true: frequency describes any rate of time at which something repeats. For example, from Earth, Halley's Comet is visible at a frequency of 76 years — it's not frequent, but it is on schedule.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

frequency frequencies

"This includes increased frequency of headaches, irritation, tiredness and stomach aches, reduced sleep duration and quality and increased risk of stress, anxiety and depression," she said.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

To get those big numbers, you’ve got to bowl with frequency and we only go maybe once or twice a week.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

Without compelling new features, a big question is whether consumers will slow the frequency of iPhone upgrades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

"The study offers evidence that lower frequency isometric exercise training can help maintain short-term blood pressure reductions, providing a pragmatic option for individuals with limited time or adherence challenges."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2026

The frequency of incidents seemed tied, to some extent, to current events, to the general media profile of Muslims that week or month.

From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers

“We call it a dimensional tuner. You can look at higher frequencies and see if there’s any fae spirits around, or down-tune it and see if there’s any undead spirits or demons around.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

"It can be shown that when the electron returns to its atom, it generates a whole range of different frequencies with roughly equal intensity," says Dimitar Popmintchev, postdoc in Tenio Popmintchev's team at TU Wien.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 29, 2026

It also suggests having a FM radio for updates during outages, and writing down the frequencies of any national or local radio stations you use for news.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

He shared radio frequencies, troop locations and detailed battle planning.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

There may be some convergent evolution because there may be only one best solution to a certain environmental problem— something like two eyes, for example, for binocular vision at optical frequencies.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

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Related Words

• density
• number
• prevalence
• recurrence
• regularity
• repetition

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